"Their physical beauty and amiable
dispositions harmonized completely
with the softness of their clime" MELVILLE
Arriving at Tahiti, Wallis's men "swore
they neaver saw handsomer made women
in their lives." Generations of navigators
and travelers have agreed with them.
Of the girls pictured here, Vairea (op
posite), with her swan neck, finely penciled
eyebrows, and lustrous eyes, resembles the
Egyptian queen Nefertiti.
Tarita (right), a native of Bora Bora,
won the leading part in the film Mutiny
on the Bounty, playing opposite Marlon
Brando.
Tetuanui at lower right displays classic
Polynesian features. Girl at lower center
is pure Chinese. Ine (below) wears a crown
of tiare Tahiti, a species of gardenia.